Marketing For County Boosted By $850,000

Commission Oks Expense Before Decision On Center

January 7, 2004|By April Hunt, Sentinel Staff Writer

KISSIMMEE -- Osceola County will spend $850,000 on marketing and promoting tourism in the next year. But it's likely to be the last year for a blanket cash outlay as officials decide whether they can afford a convention center.

The approval of several contracts for the county's Convention and Visitors Bureau comes on the heels of last month's approval to raise the tax on hotels and other lodging from 5 to 6 percent.

FOR THE RECORD - ********** CORRECTION OR CLARIFICATION PUBLISHED JANUARY 18, 2004 **********An article on the front of the Jan. 7 Osceola section about Osceola County approving spending $850,000 to market and promote tourism incorrectly characterized the amount the county Convention and Visitors Bureau has budgeted for such activities. The bureau has a total of $1.4 million for promotions. Additionally, the $850,000, which is contained within the approved advertising budget, did not represent an increase.*************************************************************

The extra money is intended to go toward the county-owned convention center project, which the developer says will need the extra cash to make it workable. Osceola has tried off and on for a decade to build a center without success, using the tourist tax for a variety of other projects.

County commissioners have until May 1 to decide on final approval of the convention center project. A key element will be whether it makes financial sense to have the project along with other projects such as Osceola Heritage Park and a softball complex, and continued heavy funding of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"This is normal advertising for the CVB [Convention and Visitors Bureau], as they see fit," Commission Chairman Ken Shipley said of Monday's decision. "Next year will be totally different because we have never asked just how much we need to advertise and how much we need to budget."

This week, county commissioners approved a $750,000 contract with a New York firm, Kelly Communications, that will place commercials for the area on cable and network television. Inquiries will be tracked through calls received by the Convention and Visitors Bureau's inbound telemarketing firm.

The bureau has budgeted $7.7 million next year for advertising, of which $4.4 million is directed at television ads.

The county also agreed to spend another $100,000 on various other expenses for the bureau to lure tourists to Osceola. It will pay vendors $63,500 for promotional items touting Kissimmee-St. Cloud at trade shows and other events. The bureau has a total of $1.4 million budgeted for promotional giveaways.

Osceola also will pay an Orlando firm $40,000 to handle its booth storage, transportation and installation at trade shows around the country. The company, MC, will serve as the county's booth-management operator until March 10, when a new bid is expected to be prepared. The money will come from the bureau's budget for contractual services, which was set for $2.4 million for the year.

The county will also pay for bureau staffers to attend two trade shows. The Destinations Showcase on April 22 in New York will cost $2,195 for exhibit space. The same trade show in Chicago on Aug. 26 will cost $4,390.

Funding for both shows, which will have programs on industry trends, will come from the bureau's promotional budget.

County Manager Ed Hunzeker recommended those deals while he reviews them and previous contracts.

Hunzeker, a former accountant, began the studies after discovering the county had no clear documentation on what projects and contracts it spends tourist taxes on.

"We know some operations, like the softball complex, lose money, but we don't know the trends," Hunzeker said. "We have to see the numbers and trends to see if we can still do that if we want a convention center."